Certain military, police and civilian hostile encounters necessitate use of a small arms bullet which will have a high probability of incapacitating with an initial shot. Under some circumstances a perpetrator will be unusually aggressive and so stimulated by adrenalin or other stimulants or intoxicants as to be unusually formidable. Such opponents may be scared or ready for fight or flight and as such are difficult to incapacitate prior to their having the opportunity to inflict additional damage. With conventional hollowpoint in standard small arms calibers (357 mag., 45 and other), there have been numerous instances where a hostile perpetrator will continue to function after being shot several times. Such individuals may sustain fatal injury but are able to continue their offensive functioning to the detriment of additional human life. Particular Federal Police Agencies have sought a bullet which would have a high probability of incapacitating such a perpetrator with a single shot which delivers deep incapacitating penetration.
The evolution of bullets designed to incapacitate with an initial shot would include progressively the hollowpoint, prefragmented and frangible designs. The 1994 Annual Edition of Guns & Ammo, Petersen Publishing Company, pages 19-25, summarizes, in part, the evolution. More recent developments are reviewed in Handguns August 1995, Volume 9, Number 8, Petersen Publishing Company, pages 42-46, 88 and 89. Background pertinent to evolution and development of predecessors to the disclosure herein is now noted:
(1) The aluminum jacketed Winchester Silvertip.TM. was introduced in 1980 as an improvement over then existing hollowpoint bullets. The serrated aluminum jacket was understood to enable bullets to expand more reliably and to larger diameters than copper-jacketed bullets. The design intent was to achieve rapid expansion and avoid overpenetration thereby reducing risk to bystanders. The United States Secret Service reportedly used a 9 mm 115 grain version of this bullet until the early 1990's when it commenced use of a +P+ version. This bullet is understood to have performed to design expectations when employed by the FBI in a Miami, Fla. confrontation where the assailant continued a deadly offense after being shot by police authorities. This bullet was considered a standard for hollowpoint handgun ammunition from 1980 through 1988. PA1 (2) The Hydra-Shok.TM., designed in the 1970's, is a pointed or rounded tip hollowpoint with a lead post swaged in the center of the hollowpoint cavity. The center post is understood to amplify and focus fluid pressure and act as an accuracy enhancing forward and centerline balance shaft. Accuracy is reported as a problem related to large-cavity hollowpoints. Federal Cartridge is reported to have assumed production rights of this bullet in 1987 and to have modified the design retaining the hollowpoint with swaged center post concept. These design changes are understood to have led law enforcement agencies to consider this bullet as a standard for comparison of bullet performance, thereby replacing the Winchester Silvertip.TM.. The FBI is understood to have conducted testing of these bullets with and without the swaged center post. Reported test results for external and terminal ballistics, believed to have been conducted with 10% ballistic gelatin, indicated that the unmodified bullet demonstrated superior performance, after penetration of glass, in size of crush cavities, accuracy, expansion and penetration in the 12-to-18-inch range. PA1 (3) The Nyclad.TM. bullet was considered a solution to stopping-power problems of poor expansion reliability in lower-velocity calibers. This bullet is now produced by Federal Cartridge. The design was changed making the nylon coating thinner (for improved accuracy), reduced the tin and antimony content (to improve the reliability of expansion), and changed the feed profiles and hollowpoint openings on all calibers. These changes were reported to produce reliable expansion, high weight retention and adequate penetration. The Nyclad.TM. is understood to expand more reliably at the lowest velocities than copper jacketed hollowpoint bullets and to expand more readily than other lead hollowpoints which must use higher percentages of antimony (used to harden lead and prevent bore fouling). The bullet was rated highly in 0.38 Special (non-+P, 125-grain) and 9 mm (non-+P, 124 grain calibers in testing in calibrated ordinance gelatin and in actual police shooting results. PA1 (4) The Glaser Safety Slug.TM. was developed by Jack Y. Canon, in approximately 1969 and was believed to be the first frangible prefragmented personal defense bullet. This bullet has a thin serrated copper jacket filled with number 12 or number 6 birdshot and sealed with a polymer nose cap. The bullet is reported to rupture on impact releasing birdshot and creating a wound resembling that from a 0.410 bore contact shotgun blast. The bullet is understood to have been used by the U.S. Customs Service "Sky Marshals" as the bullet least likely to overpenetrate and cause a bystander hazard; it was also considered the least likely to ricochet or puncture an aircraft fuselage. The bullet has been considered most likely to expand and transfer energy. The bullet was once filed with liquid Teflon.TM. which was shown to both slow pellet dispersion in a target and reduce velocity (due to added weight). The bullet has changed from a flatnose profile to a roundnose profile in 1987. This profile change increased the feed reliability of the bullet in automatic pistols. An additional change was the use of compressed birdshot in 1991. The compressed load was reported to produce deeper pellet penetration, greater internal dispersion and improved accuracy. The use of number 12 birdshot was deemed to reduce ricochet hazard while number 6 birdshot developed deeper penetration. A characteristic of this bullet is the maximum penetration of 5 to 7 inches in calibrated ordinance gelatin. The bullet was tested in the Strasbourg animal tests and was rated first in 0.38 Special +P; second overall in 0.380 ACP, 0.40 S&W and 0.45 ACP; and third in 9 mm, 10 mm and 0.347 Magnum. PA1 (5) The MagSafe.TM. frangible and prefragmented defensive bullet uses a serrated copper alloy jacket. Compressed or fused number 4 or number 2 birdshot, embedded in marine epoxy, constitutes the prefragmented core of this bullet. The bullet fragments on impact, produces a fewer number of larger-diameter crush cavities than the Glaser Safety Slug.TM., and penetrates between 11 and 13 inches. The bullet is reported to remain intact when penetrating objects (including building materials and auto panels) intermediate to the target with release of the prefragmented load upon impact with ordnance gelatin. PA1 (6) The Hornady Manufacturing.TM. XTP and XTP-HP are understood to have been designed in response to FBI needs following the hollowpoint experience wherein the perpetrator was able to continue a damaging offense after having been shot. It is understood that the FBI had set up a series of eight performance tests involving bare gelatin and also gelatin behind heavy clothes, auto glass, sheet metal and building materials. The tests were intended for ordinance for use by special agents and not necessarily for police use in general. The test methodology developed is reported to have been the controlling aspect of bullet design since 1987. The Hornady XTP.TM. and XTP-HP.TM. are understood to have been designed to suppress bullet expansion and totally avoid fragmentation. If is believed that the rounds perform as designed producing extremely deep penetration with little expansion. The XTP-HP.TM. is understood to perform well when operated at very high velocities. The 9 mm 124-grain XTP.TM. loaded to +P+ velocities was the best overall 9 mm load in tests conducted by the Indianapolis Police. Tests involving 0.40 S&W high-speed 155-grain XTP.TM. operated satisfactorily at velocities which would be expected to fragment other bullet designs. The XTP.TM., for a hollowpoint design, is also understood to perform well in match-grade accuracy. It is also reported that the conical feed profile of the XTP.TM. assists consistent feed reliability. PA1 (7) The Winchester.TM. Black Talon.TM. (named the Supreme Expansion Talon SXT.TM.) is understood to utilize a copper-zinc jacket designed to encourage the jacket to peel back into segments or petals and to eliminate separation of the jacket petals after expansion. The jacket petal formation increases tissue damage along the bullet path. The design is intended to increase stopping power by causing tissue damage outside the normal crush zone including crushing, stretching and cutting mechanisms. The "talon" or petal formation is produced by a combination of alloy (using a higher than normal copper content in the copper-zinc jacket) and a reverse-taper jacket design formed with a special selective heat-treat process. The bullet appears to be a copper-base FMJ bullet just prior to the last pierce-and-form operation. The jacket is thicker near the hollowpoint. The hollowpoint opening is punched into the bullet. The reverse taper jacket increases production control of "heel bulge" in the final forming operation. It is understood that square-based constant-diameter bullets have enhanced accuracy. PA1 (8) The Eldorado Starfire.TM. is understood to utilize a fluted hollowpoint cavity, in lieu of center post, in addressing bullet expansion. The Starfire.TM. design includes sharp edges and a flat bullet profile. The sharp edges are provided by the ribs inside the hollowpoint cavity. The ribs and flutes roll outward during expansion to engage tissue and assist in penetration. The ribs and flutes act as wedges to force the cavity walls open. Fluid pressure enters the hollowpoint cavity and is split by the wedge-shaped ribs. The pressure is redirected into the flutes that line the cavity wall. Expansion pressure is focused on the cavity wall which opens along five lines. The hollowpoint cavity is approximately as deep as the bullet is long and has the ability to expand to the bullet base. The bullet does not fragment after expansion nor does it fragment after high-velocity impacts. The bullet continues to expand to larger recovered diameters. Large bullet diameters typically limit the depth of penetration. It is believed that the sharp edges of the ribs and the high retained weight tend to increase the depth of penetration. In the Strasbourg tests the Starfire.TM. outperformed conventional JHP bullets of the same weight and velocity. Ordnance gelatin tests indicate the 9 mm 124-grain Starfire.TM. to be an effective police and defensive load. PA1 (9) The CCI-Clount Totally Metal Jacketed.TM. (TMJ) bullet was introduced in 1988 and was followed by the CCI Plated Hollow point.TM. (PHP) which used the TMJ blank. The copper jackets of these bullets, solid and hollowpoint respectively, were applied through electroplating onto a lead core. Advantages of copper-plated bullets over conventional swaged jackets include a core which is precluded from rotation or separation from the jacket thus increasing accuracy. The plated jacket also increases weight retention, especially for high-velocity impacts with tissue or impact with a hard object. The fully encased bullet also reduces airborne lead contamination. PA1 (10) The Remington.TM. Golden Saber HPJ.TM. demonstrates divergence from past jacket cladding technology, where gilding metal consisted of 95% copper and 5% zinc, using a jacket made from cartridge brass of 70% copper and 30% zinc forming a stiffer jacket. This slows the rate of expansion and reduces fragmentation. The stiffer jacket is complemented by a larger hollowpoint cavity opening which is the same diameter as the jacket opening. The cavity is relatively shallow. Early expansion forces are directed against the stiff jacket and not the lead core. The jacket peels back but, because of the stiffness, does not fold back against the bullet shank holding, instead, a large diameter. Expansion forces focus on the bullet core with a shallow hollowpoint cavity. Shallow cavities are believed to produce minimum core expansion and maximum weight retention. The Golden Sabre.TM. design is thought to increase tissue damage from the jacket structure rather than relying on damage from the core. The core maintains its weight for deeper penetration. The jacket expands to a large recovered diameter for the crushing action of the bullet. The jacket remains away from the bullet core even after impact with bone. Initial gelatin and animal tests indicate the HPJ.TM. to have improved hollowpoint performance in comparison with prior Remington.TM. auto pistol bullet hollowpoint technology. PA1 (11) The Signature Products Corp. Rhino-Ammo.TM., Black Rhino.TM. or Razor-Ammo.TM. was introduced in late 1994. It is understood that the Rhino-Ammo.TM. is formed from a CCI-Speer hollowpoint bullet. The 0.45 ACP caliber is based on the Speer 225-grain JHP. The bullet is fixed in a lathe and the hollowpoint cavity drilled down to approximately the bullet base and to a diameter approximately as large as the jacket opening. Thereafter the hollowed-out bullet is put in a fluid energy mill, tumbled in media that removes more lead, smooths out the cavity walls and polishes the bullet jacket. In original loads a polymer was poured into the drilled-out cavity. It was determined that this process significantly reduced projectile accuracy being too rear heavy to be stable in flight. Weight was added forward of the center of gravity leading to a second-generation load which managed accuracy of groups into five inches at 50 feet. The polymer in the second-generation bullets was poured into the cavity in two phases: the first phase filled the cavity leaving space for seven number 4 birdshot pellets and room for final sealing polymer; following the curing of the initial polymer, birdshot was added and sealed. This second generation of bullet, in the 0.45 ACP caliber, it is understood, weighed 125 grains while the 9 mm version weighed 98 grains. Blended canister-grade powder was used to achieve a desired time-pressure curve. The impact, with this design, results in the jacket peeling back, the release of plastic core fragments and then release of the birdshot pellets. It is understood that 1,500 to 1,600 fps velocity loads have been independently tested, in both 0.45 ACP and 9 mm, in calibrated, 10% gelatin revealing 5.3-inch cavity diameter and penetration depth of 7.5 inches.
Frangible bullets of this type design are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,911,820 and 3,972,286 to Jack Y. Canon which are disclosed in the associated Information Disclosure Statement.
The Black Talon.TM. heat-treat is intended to soften the jacket near the hollowpoint cavity to permit the jacket to fold back easily. The middle of the jacket is partially annealed and the bullet shank and base are left full work-hardened. The jacket serration operation includes a 90-degree bend that forms the base of the talon for reinforcement. When the jacket petals peel back, they remain exposed even after impact with bone. The bullet is reported to penetrate deeper than ordinary JHP bullets before expansion commences.
It is reported that the Black Talon.TM. expands more rapidly, once expansion begins, than a conventional JHP. This permits a higher penetrating velocity as with a subsonic hollowpoint and a large recovered diameter and temporary cavity as with a rapidly expanding Silvertip.TM..
CCI changed design parameters for the PHP line in 1993, introducing the Gold Dot.TM., to include eight serrations. The bullets are reswaged after plating for uniform diameters and square bases to increase accuracy. The bullets terminate expansion prior to shearing off the mushroom formation. The Gold Dot.TM. design is intended to avoid fragmentation, from shearing of the mushroom, in the high-velocity loads and where light bullet weights and rapid expansion may limit penetration.
The Rhino-Ammo.TM. was compared, in 0.45 ACP and 9 mm loads, with the Glaser Safety Slug.TM. and the MagSafe.TM.. The comparison indicated that the bullet construction was markedly different from the Glaser Safety Slug.TM. and markedly similar to the MagSafe.TM.. The Rhino-Ammo.TM. or Razor-AmMo.TM. was found to instantly fragment in 10% gelatin even after penetration of heavy clothes. The bullet construction has no hollowpoint cavity. The birdshot pellets at the nose of the bullet penetrated independently of the main stretch cavity as did lead fragments from the lead lining from the lead core. There was no finding of independent penetration from the polymer fragments after the polymer core fragmented. The polymer fragments were found to line the inside of the temporary cavity caused by the bullet breakup. The polymer fragments were hard and sharp but lacked sufficient weight to cause independent penetration.
Rhino-Ammo.TM. or Razor-AMmo.TM. is understood to have been compared with similar fragmenting loads and with conventional hollowpoint loads. In 9 mm and 0.45 ACP calibers the bullet was deemed to be as effective as the best frangible load in the caliber and more effective than the best hollowpoint producing more stopping power than subsonic and non-hollowpoint loads.
Tests have been conducted regarding the probability of particular bullets or loads in delivering an impact of a nature of likely terminating activity of a perpetrator with a single shot. Marshall and others have written about the Strasbourg tests where the subjects were goats. Glaser.TM. and Magsafe.TM. prefragmented rounds, consisting of bird shot placed in a jacket covered with epoxy, were judged to have the impact with the highest likelihood of terminating activity with a single shot. The impact of the prefragmented bullet had the highest likelihood of causing almost instantaneous disabling impact. The existing prefragmented bullets, consisting of bird shot in epoxy, have weights lower than a standard police or military small arms bullet. The lower weight contributes to weapon malfunction. The bird shot, being smooth and round, causes a less significant crush cavity than a design with fragmentation.